


The Doomed Colony of Artemis

by Gay_Cyborg



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Romance, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Gay, Heavy Angst, Humor, M/M, Multiple chapters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Burn, Story Arc, Trans Female Character, Warnings May Change, alcohol use, doomed colony, happy ending if it ends up being a two parter, happy parts though, kai is not a major character, no happy ending, ok now thats out of the way, ok so a couple things, or like feilds of science, sorry - Freeform, technically, y'all I'm not gonna lie I don't know shit about the army
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-04-30 09:04:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14493549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_Cyborg/pseuds/Gay_Cyborg
Summary: so its been mentioned that before the events of rvb, Grif was stationed at a doomed colony, and everyone there was killed except Grif cause he was taking a nap and the space pirates thought he was dead. I thought it was criminal that the creators never talked about it again so I'm writing about it and my dude? Shits gonna get gay as fuck. Also sad as fuck. And cute. A lot of things happen okay? Stick with me, it'll be less confusing later I swear. (Updates every Monday)





	1. Initiation

I stared at the helmet in my gloved hands. An ODST model, tan with brown accents, I had picked it out myself. This would be the armor I would be known by once I got to the outpost I was stationed at. My first job since joining the UNSC. Sure I'd miss my sister and my friends and everything from back home, but helping and serving for people on planets all around the galaxy had been my dream since the day I first learned about the UNSC. 

-

"Seriously? The UNSC? Dude you've barely even been outside the state before, and you're saying you wanna go to another freaking _planet_? Theres fucking aliens n shit out there!"

"Thats the point! I want to get out there and see the universe, go have adventures in brand new places, have epic battles with space pirates! No offense to you sis but this place is getting old and suffocating, theres never even new people. I want to go and do something, help people, be a hero! The UNSC is my chance to do that."

"Alright, alright. I mean, you could do that stuff without leaving the planet, but if thats really what you wanna do I'll support you, nerd. Make sure to send me some cool space junk so I can brag about how awesome my big bro is."

-

My thoughts were interrupted when the hum of the shuttle slowed and I felt the soft thud as it landed. The airlock opened and I waved to the pilot as I stood and stepped out. I looked at my new surroundings. The place looked like a desert but.. slightly off. The rocky mountains and cliffs took odd shapes, the ground and rocks were a pale brownish red, marbled with peach, grey and occasionally a dark rich blue, and plants that could never be found on earth grew out of cracks and over bluffs. The sky was a light tan-yellow, and I could see Apollo, the sister planet of Artemis, the planet I was currently stationed on. Then I looked at the big white metallic structure in front of me. The UNSC base, still fairly new but clearly starting to get worn down from the elements. There were a few different sections off of the base, probably used for storage or training areas, and there were a few crates and vehicles scattered around the outpost. I breathed and took it all in. This was it, this was what I had wanted for years, this is what I trained for and worked so hard for, this planet was my new home. 

"See the big round building that has 'UNSC' painted on the side?" the pilot called out. I turned my head to listen. "That's the main building, initiation is just inside. Don't try to screw around with anything else yet, your sergeant can get pretty mean and you don't wanna start off on her bad side. You'll get to check everything out eventually, just be patient. Good luck out there buddy."

I yelled a quick 'thanks' back and started towards the base. As I got closer I saw another shuttle land and open. I watched as a pale girl with long black hair stepped out, adorned with dark green armor with cyan accents. I smiled and waved at her. "Hey, Snyder!" 

Her eyes darted over to me and her expression relaxed into a casual grin. I met Snyder back in basic training, and we may not have spent all our time together and become the closest of friends, but I knew her well enough that we could go out for drinks every once in a while after training. I wasn't scared of being stationed out there or anything, but seeing a familiar face and knowing I'd start out with at least one friend helped calm my nerves. I jogged over to her and she greeted me. 

"Well damn, hey dude. Didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon." she moved her helmet under one arm and rested her other hand against her hip. "Right? What are the chances? Well, I'm glad to see you here. Need someone to keep me out of trouble." she rolled her eyes and started walking towards the base. I followed next to her. "Yeah, I know." I laughed and gave her a mock offended look

"Whats _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Means I still remember getting you out of trouble back in basic. You nearly set me on fire once."

"Hey cmon, only _nearly_ , and it was just once! You know I get hungry at night, you shouldn't have set up your sleeping stuff so close to the microwave!" 

"Yknow, fire isn't supposed to come out of microwaves." she said. I watched as she put her helmet on.  
"Yeah yeah, whatever." I looked down at my own helmet for a moment. I'd put it on before for fitting and training, but this was different. This was the first time I would put it on for _real_. I pulled it on and adjusted it until it clicked into place. 

"You ready?" she said. I looked over at her, then looked forwards to see we had arrived at the entrance. I took a deep breath. "Yeah. Lets do this." I said, and walked up the ramp and into the building. 

The inside looked different. Much newer and untarnished, but less pretty than the outside with unpainted metal walls and the inner workings visible through missing wall and ceiling panels. There were already people in armor lined up in the middle of the room, and someone in navy and light blue armor stood in front of them with a data pad. They looked over at me and Snyder. 

"Ah, cutting it a little close, are we? Lucky for the two of you you managed to get here just before I signed off on roll call." she said in an equally scornful and teasing tone. After a moment she nodded toward the line of soldiers and looked back down at the data pad as we followed her silent order and joined the group. She slowly walked down the line and stopped in front of the two of us, still looking at her data pad. "Private Snyder?"

"Here, ma'am." Snyder said and straightened her posture under the attention. She eyed Snyder for a moment, then looked down at the data pad again to type something in. 

"And.." she turned her gaze to me and took a second to look me up and down. "Private Grif?"

"Present." I said and nodded to her.

"Alright then." she said and finished what she was doing on her data pad. She tucked it under her arm and looked at the two of us.

"Welcome to the doomed colony of Artemis."


	2. Settling in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> getting to know the mission and some crewmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow I wonder who the love interest could possibly be. It's such a mystery. I'm bad at writing. there's some referenced nsfw but its extremely brief, character development, plot explenation, and like a little angst at the end if you squint (esp if you think about what happens to the colony)

The Sergeant stood before the group, holding her hands behind her back.

"My name is Kaida Ito, you may refer to me as Sergeant Ito, or just Ito. I imagine you were briefed before you were sent out here, but in case you weren't paying attention," she paused to stare at a soldier who was messing with a clasp on his armor until he looked up and sheepishly put his hands behind his back. "I'll summarize it for you." she began pacing up and down the line. 

"Artemis is a newly discovered planet with a rich environment. Plants and animals thriving on what seems to be bare minimum, plentiful mineral deposits, a seemingly perfect planet. But this planet, sometime within the next few hundred years, will collide with the planet caught in orbit with it, Apollo, and become nothing more than a few rocks and a distant memory. Our mission here is to gather research, and to preserve and collect any valuable finds. Now, I'd like you to look at the people around you." 

I leaned forward slightly to take in the others. Everyone had their helmets on, but each set of armor had distinct colours and variances, and it was a fairly small group so it wouldn't be hard to tell them apart. "These are your crewmates for the entirety of our mission, so I suggest you get to know each other and don't start any trouble. We are outfitted with both scientists and soldiers, and while the focus of our mission is on research and recovery do not be mistaken, every person plays an equally important roll. I do _not_ want to see infighting or petty rivalries over something as insignificant as your role. Teamwork is vital, so I expect you all to cooperate with, trust, and support each other, both for the missions sake and your own." 

She stopped and held up the pad under her arm. "This is a data pad. You all have been issued your own and I expect you to take good care of it." she held it down in front of herself and typed something in. "I'm sending you a full map of the outpost, your schedule, a full copy of rules and regulations, and any other information you will need. For today you'll just be settling in. The shuttle with your personal items arrived a few hours ago and is waiting outside. Grab your things, go pick out your rooms, and then you can spend the evening however you want. Grab something to eat, get to know each other, get unpacked, whatever you feel like doing. I want you up and ready at 0700 hours. You are dismissed." we acknowledged her and broke from the lineup. I hurried outside to grab my bags. I wasn't about to fight someone to get there first, but I didn't want to end up with the last pick of rooms. I pulled open the shuttle and looked over all the baggage. My eyes finally landed on mine, covered in corny stickers Kai had put on there before I left. 

_"They're for good luck," she had said, flattening out the 'You're Grape!' sticker she had put on and moving to grab a sticker of a cartoon bird. "And to make sure you don't forget about me while you're looking at space rocks n stuff."_

I smiled at the memory and pulled my bags out. We weren't allowed to bring _everything_ obviously, but we were allowed to bring a fair amount since we'd be here a long while and space wasn't a concern with such a small group. I squeezed past the rest of the group to head off towards the rooms. They were in a long hallway on the other side of the mess, and each room had a touch pad in the wall next to the door with a blank space for the owners name. I was making my way toward the room on the end when the crewmate in white and yellow accented armor jogged up to me and caught my attention. 

"Hey dude! Hi, uh, I'm Collins, its nice to meet you" I couldn't see his face but the way he spoke I could tell he was beaming at me from under that helmet. "If you don't mind, do you think me and my buddy could grab the rooms on the end here? We're real quiet, I promise." he waited patiently for me to respond. I paused for a moment to consider it. I liked the end room, it felt the most private to me and I could probably sneak out at night without waking anyone up. But I didn't need the end room to feel comfortable, and though this guy was being friendly he was obviously nervous as hell, he could probably use it more than me. And maybe this could be a chance at two new friends right off the bat. I wondered which one of the people I'd seen was his friend. 

I picked my bags back up off the floor and headed to the room three from the end. "Sure dude, they're all yours." I started typing my name into the keypad and he made some noise that sounded like a mix of a triumphant laugh and a sigh of relief. "Thank you, that means a lot to me, I owe you one.. Uh,," I clicked the enter button and turned to look at him again.

"It's Grif." 

"Grif! Thanks, Grif. I'll talk to you later buddy, hope you settle in okay!" I laughed a little to myself, it seemed impossible how much he radiated friendliness in a full suit of armor. "You too." 

I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. It wasn't a five star hotel, but it definitely wasn't shitty. It was just slightly too spacious to be called small, and there was a few pieces of furniture to make it feel a little bit more homey. There was a desk and chair against one wall, a small dresser near the bed, a loveseat across the room from the desk, a small closet, and a bed that looked like it could hold one person comfortably, but two would be snug. I threw my bags onto my bed and started stripping out of my armor. I pulled a t-shirt and sweatpants out of a bag, put them on and pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail. For a while I worked on putting everything away until I was content with how much I'd moved in, then headed out to go to the mess and grab some food, maybe see if I could find Snyder. 

I walked into the mess and before I could search for the food I made eye contact with a lanky dark skinned guy with coily hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, who seemed to be talking to someone who had their back to me. He waved at me, a little unsure. "Hey.. Grif?" his voice had the same light friendly sound as the guy I'd met in the hallway. I smiled and gave him a small wave back. "Hey Collins." I looked around and found a fridge next to the doorway I had just walked through. I pulled it open and grabbed a water bottle and a protein bar, then walked over to where the two men were standing. 

The guy Collins was talking to turned around to look at me. His hair was an almost black, short curly mop, and his skin was a warm brown tone, a little lighter than mine. His eyes were a greenish brown, and looked at me through a pair of black rimmed rectangular glasses. I started to ask myself if everyone in this colony was going to be as attractive as the people I'd already met. I noticed he wasn't just looking at me, he was staring at my arms. It wasn't uncommon, I was covered in a variety of intricate tattoos and I was used to strangers eyeing them. I twisted the cap off of my water bottle and took a drink.

"Is this the friend you were talking about?" I asked and his eyes snapped up to meet mine. "Oh, yeah! He's gonna be in the room next to you." He gave me a slightly apologetic look and held out his empty hand to greet me. "Yeah, that's me, hi." his voice was soft and warm, and he smiled. "Sorry for staring, haven't really seen a lot of people with so many tattoos before." I shoved the protein bar into my pocket and shook his hand. "You're fine dude, I don't mind. Dexter Grif." 

"Madison Dunner, nice to meet you. Hope you're not too loud."

I smiled. "Nah, don't worry. I'll play death metal at top volume in the middle of the night but other than that I'm very quiet." he laughed a little and leaned back against the wall. "Okay, good. So, Grif. What's your job here?" I sat on the arm of a chair. "I'm a soldier." 

"Ah. I'm the meteorologist, Collins here is the botanist. Maybe you can come help us out with science stuff or something when you don't have anything on your hands?" 

He wanted to hang out with me. I smiled. "Sounds like a plan. I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?" I stood and started making my way towards the door. "Yep! Seeya later Grif!" Collins yelled after me. I gave them a small wave and walked out. 

I headed down the hall and started eating my protein bar. Gotta figure out what room Snyder is in. I looked at the key pads as I went. I finally found the room she chose, three away from mine, and I knocked. She opened the door, still wearing most of her armor, and smiled when she saw me. She stepped aside. "Hey Grif, you settling in fine?" I walked in and sat on her bed. "Yeah dude, already made a few friends. The guys here are pretty as hell." she chuckled and started peeling pieces of armor off. I almost laughed remembering the time we slept together. It was just to blow off steam, little did we know that was how we'd both realize we were gay as hell and _very_ much not interested in each other. That was also when I found out she was a trans woman. The whole experience ended up making us closer as friends more than anything. 

I looked around the room while she finished changing. She'd obviously spent her time setting everything up, her personal items placed carefully around her desk, her clothes already organized into her closet and dresser and several fold out animal crates on the floor around the room. "Any girls?" she asked, pulling her shirt down over her head. "Haven't met any yet, but then again I've only talked to two people besides you. Hey, maybe you could get with the Sergeant, she seems like your type." I smirked when she rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, flirting with the commanding officer? Not gonna risk that." I missed hanging out with her, I could always relax with her around. She kicked my leg gently and sat next to me. "If you get crumbs on my bed I'll kill you." I gave her a thumbs up and quickly finished my bar. 

She leaned against me. "So how's Kaikaina been? Haven't heard from her in a while."

"Oh you know, same old Kai, single and annoying as ever." she laughs. "Oh, she got top surgery a while back, the scars are starting to heal." 

"well damn, good for her." 

"how about your brothers, how are they doing?" 

"the lil guy just turned twelve about a month ago. He's convinced I'm out here being a hero or something, told me when I come back from 'saving people' he's gonna throw me the best party ever. Can't wait to see him again. And my older brother.. still a huge piece of shit I assume. Haven't seen or heard from him in over a year now." 

"Good." 

We keep talking like that, telling each other everything that happened since we last saw each other and making each other laugh until it was late. I went back to my room, set an alarm and got in bed. It took a while, but I managed to get to sleep. I couldn't wait to see what the next day had in store.


	3. update!(UPDATED AGAIN)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOT A CHAPTER

hey guys, sorry but the next chapter isn't coming out today. I was planning on getting it done today, but it was too hot to think straight, let alone write a coherent chapter. It will be coming out eventually though! Definitely some time between tomorrow and next Monday, most likely sooner than later. Again, so sorry for the delay. In the meantime, have this badly drawn picture of [Grif](https://pillsburyandregret.tumblr.com/post/173908566768/issa-grof)!

(edit:)

WELL FUCK remember when I said Monday? I'm a dirty liar. I'm gonna get it out eventually, promise. Until then, chech out these aesthetics I made a while back: [Grif,](https://o-u-kno.tumblr.com/post/172873823807/grif) [Snyder,](https://o-u-kno.tumblr.com/post/172640058827/snyder) [Collins,](https://o-u-kno.tumblr.com/post/172643787302/collins?is_highlighted_post=1) and [Dunner.](https://o-u-kno.tumblr.com/post/172640106282/dunner) (bonus: [Simmons](https://o-u-kno.tumblr.com/post/172880167202/simmons?is_highlighted_post=1))

(oh, and a little teaser: someone gets stabbed in the beginning of the next chapter >;3c)


End file.
